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23/10/2009

Two exhibitions

Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York

True Self
Group exhibition

curated by Gary Baseman

Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased to announce True Self, a group exhibition of new works by over 40 artists, brought together by represented artist and special guest curator Gary Baseman. The theme has been left open to encourage individual interpretation and there are no size or medium restrictions, so that each participating artist has complete creative freedom on the subject at hand.

In the curator’s words: "In this exhibition, I have invited a group of painters, photographers, and sculptors, to look deep inside themselves and create an image that they feel represents their own passion or obsession. They might imagine themselves as anyone or anything—a wolf, a cupcake, a mermaid, even a skyscraper. I am requesting each artist to create an artwork that represents his or her true self. I am not asking for (nor do I want) a self-portrait. Rather, I’m requesting that the participating artists pick an icon, metaphor, or symbol that they feel represents their true essence. The desired result is a breaking of boundaries to allow a space and time where we can discover, accept, and love our true selves, feeling nirvana and heaven on earth."

*More artists and works to come*
Partial list of participating artists include:
Adam Wallacavage
Alex Prager
Amor Muñoz
Boris Hoppek
Cleon Peterson
Dave Cooper
David Sandlin
Deedee Cheriel
Eric White
Esther Pearl Watson
Fons Schiedon
Gary Baseman
Gary Taxali
Gérard DuBois
Gretchen Ryan
James Jean
James Marshall (aka Dalek)
Jonathon Rosen
Josh Agle (aka Shag)
Korin Faught
Lauren Bergman
Leah Hayes
Lola
Luke Chueh
Marion Peck
Mark Ryden
Mark Todd
Martha Rich
Mike Shinoda
Miso
Natalia Fabia
Orly Cogan
Ray Caesar
Robin VanValkenburgh
Ron English
Ryan Heshka
Ryan Jacob Smith
Shannon Freshwater
The London Police
Tim Biskup
Travis Lampe

ABOUT THE CURATOR Gary Baseman is a man of many talents, besides being a pervasive artist and painter, he is also an illustrator, toy designer, and TV/movie producer. His artwork has been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Rome, Taipei, Barcelona, and Berlin. He had an installation at the Pasadena Museum of California Art and a two-man show at Laguna Art Museum. Baseman blurs the line between toy culture and fine art with his strong iconic images, which are at once playful and dark, childlike and adult, id-driven and thought provoking. Baseman is also the creator and executive producer of Teacher’s Pet, a critically acclaimed animated series and film, a winner of multiple Emmy awards. Baseman’s artwork can be seen in The New Yorker, TIME, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and on the best selling board game Cranium.

SPECIAL THANKS:
Our gratitude goes out to The Mexican Cultural Institute of New York for their financial support in relation to exhibiting the work of Amor Muñoz.

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Jim Houser
Make Room For The Emptiness

Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased to present Make Room For The Emptiness, a solo exhibition of new original works by Jim Houser. Returning for what will be his third solo show at the gallery, Houser has created a new series of paintings and sculptures which will be incorporated into a site-specific installation. Additionally, the artist has composed a new score of original instrumental music to be played in the space throughout the exhibition, enhancing the experience on an audio-sensory level by complementing the tone, rhythm and repetition of the work.

Houser’s paintings are visual poems by which he communicates his innermost thoughts and feelings; words are involved at times, but not in the traditional sense. By cataloging his experiences through a unique pictoral language, the artist has created his own iconography. As a result, the collective imagery acts as a cognitive presentation of highly interpretive ideas. Houser’s signature aesthetic contains elements of stylized figures and hand-drawn typography along with patterned line work—all rendered with clean precision using a gradient of tints and shades within his minimal palette of harmonious flat colors. When his sculptural pieces—which include hand-made guitars and flowerpots—are combined with his paintings, it becomes clear that all of the works are associative and directly related. This deceptively dimensional quality is further highlighted when the pieces are assembled into one of Houser’s elaborate installations, adding to the complexity of each individual piece by emphasizing a greater cohesive inter-connectivity to the body of work, as a whole.

Make Room For The Emptiness marks a subtle departure in style and sophistication for Houser, resulting in a cleaner, simpler, more mature approach to his installation. For the past several years, his work has been heavily influenced by intense physical and emotional pain due to a congenital health problem and grief suffered from personal tragedy. Honoring the memory of his late wife, while also suffering from health issues, Houser’s work has often been a practice in cathartic meditation, driven by memory and mourning. This year however, the artist has celebrated the affirmation of a new love and has also received medical treatment for his previous health condition. Through experiencing these feelings of profound change and healing in both heart and body—as the show title suggests—Houser is consciously choosing to make some room for fresh, new beginnings by creating a blank slate upon which he can begin to write this new chapter in his life.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Jim Houser lives and works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Houser's paintings are the system by which he actively catalogs the images and noises which command his attention. His installations create a mapping system, cataloguing the contents of his head over the course of a particular period of time. His interests include: listening to the cadence of speech, science and science fiction, sickness and disease, plants and animals, sport, time travel, ghosts, the art of children, secrets, radio, codes and code breaking, words that sound beautiful and mean something terrible, and words that sound horrible but mean something wonderful.

Image: Jim Houser, Clues, acrylic on canvas and wood 16 3/4 x 17 x 2 3/8 in.

Press inquiries:
Maléna Seldin, Media Relations malena@jonathanlevinegallery.com

Opening Reception - Saturday, October 24th 7pm-9pm

Jonathan LeVine Gallery
529 West 20th Street, 9th Floor New York, NY 10011
Open Tuesday through Saturday, 11am to 6pm

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